Vitamin D supplementation at different doses affects the vagal component of the baroreceptor reflex and the Bezold-Jarisch reflex in eutrophic rats.

Vitamin D has been used to prevent several diseases. The 1,25 (OH) 2D3, the active form of vitamin D (VitD), participates in calcium metabolism, and has direct action in various tissues as those of the cardiovascular system binding to the VitD receptor. We investigated whether the supplementation with different doses of VitD affect or not the resting mean arterial pressure (MAP) and heart rate (HR), heart rate variability (HRV), baroreceptor and Bezold-Jarisch reflexes in eutrophic rats.

Anemia and iron deficiency in primigent parturients in a municipality of Brazilian west Amazon.

To analyze the prevalence of anemia and associated factors in primiparous parturient.Cross-sectional study conducted in a municipality of the Brazilian Western Amazon from July 2014 to December 2015. A convenience sample of 461 first-time pregnant women were interviewed.

Oxytocin Reduces Intravesical Pressure in Anesthetized Female Rats: Action on Oxytocin Receptors of the Urinary Bladder.

Urinary bladder dysfunction affects several people worldwide and shows higher prevalence in women. Micturition is dependent on the Barrington's nucleus, pontine urine storage center and periaqueductal gray matter, but other brain stem areas are involved in the bladder regulation. Neurons in the medulla oblongata send projections to hypothalamic nuclei as the supraoptic nucleus, which synthetizes oxytocin and in its turn, this peptide is released in the circulation.

Unravelling the intravenous and in situ vasopressin effects on the urinary bladder in anesthetized female rats: More than one vasopressin receptor subtype involved?

Urinary bladder dysfunctions show high prevalence in women. We focused to investigate the intravenous and in situ (topic) vasopressin effects on the bladder and also to characterize the vasopressin receptor subtypes in the bladder. Adult female Wistar rats anesthetized with isoflurane underwent to the cannulation of the femoral artery and vein, and also urinary bladder for mean arterial pressure, heart rate and intravesical pressure (IP) recordings, respectively.

Renal and femoral venous blood flows are regulated by different mechanisms dependent on α-adrenergic receptor subtypes and nitric oxide in anesthetized rats.

Venous and arterial walls are responsive to sympathetic system and circulating substances, nevertheless, very few is known about the venous blood flow regulation simultaneously to arterial vascular beds. In this study, we compared the venous and arterial blood flow regulation in visceral and muscular beds upon injection of different doses of vasoactive drugs which act in arterial vascular beds. Anesthetized adult male Wistar rats underwent to right femoral artery and vein cannulation for hemodynamic recordings and infusion of drugs.

Aerobic exercise reduces hippocampal ERK and p38 activation and improves memory of middle-aged rats.

Aging is often accompanied by cognitive decline, memory impairment, and an increased susceptibility to neurodegenerative disorders. Although the physiological processes of aging are not fully understood, these age-related changes have been interpreted by means of various cellular and molecular theories. Among these theories, alterations in the intracellular signaling pathways associated with cell growth, proliferation, and survival have been highlighted.

Prolonged REM sleep restriction induces metabolic syndrome-related changes: Mediation by pro-inflammatory cytokines.

Chronic sleep restriction in human beings results in metabolic abnormalities, including changes in the control of glucose homeostasis, increased body mass and risk of cardiovascular disease. In rats, 96h of REM sleep deprivation increases caloric intake, but retards body weight gain. Moreover, this procedure increases the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6), which may be involved with the molecular mechanism proposed to mediate insulin resistance.

Sleep deprivation alters energy homeostasis through non-compensatory alterations in hypothalamic insulin receptors in Wistar rats.

Studies have shown a gradual reduction of sleep time in the general population, accompanied by increased food intake, representing a risk for developing obesity, type II diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Rats subjected to paradoxical sleep deprivation (PSD) exhibit feeding and metabolic alterations, both of which are regulated by the communication between peripheral signals and the hypothalamus. This study aimed to investigate the daily change of 96 h of PSD-induced food intake, body weight, blood glucose, plasma insulin and leptin concentrations and the expression of their receptors in the hypothalamus of Wistar rats.

The Antidepressant-Like Effect of Fish Oil: Possible Role of Ventral Hippocampal 5-HT1A Post-synaptic Receptor.

The pathophysiology of depression is not completely understood; nonetheless, numerous studies point to serotonergic dysfunction as a possible cause. Supplementation with fish oil rich docosahexaenoic (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acids (EPA) during critical periods of development produces antidepressant effects by increasing serotonergic neurotransmission, particularly in the hippocampus. In a previous study, the involvement of 5-HT1A receptors was demonstrated and we hypothesized that fish oil supplementation (from conception to weaning) alters the function of post-synaptic hippocampal 5-HT1A receptors.

Aerobic exercise attenuates inhibitory avoidance memory deficit induced by paradoxical sleep deprivation in rats.

The deleterious effects of paradoxical sleep deprivation (SD) on memory processes are well documented. Physical exercise improves many aspects of brain functions and induces neuroprotection. In the present study, we investigated the influence of 4 weeks of treadmill aerobic exercise on both long-term memory and the expression of synaptic proteins (GAP-43, synapsin I, synaptophysin, and PSD-95) in normal and sleep-deprived rats.

A strength exercise program in rats with epilepsy is protective against seizures.

The beneficial effects of physical exercise on epilepsy, such as a decreased seizure frequency, have been observed following aerobic exercise programs in both clinical and experimental studies. However, it is not well clarified whether other types of exercise, including strength exercise, can provide similar benefits for epilepsy. Forty four animals with epilepsy were continuously monitored 24 h a day for 60 days and divided into two periods of 30 days.

Sleep deprivation alters rat ventral prostate morphology, leading to glandular atrophy: a microscopic study contrasted with the hormonal assays.

We investigated the effect of 96 h paradoxical sleep deprivation (PSD) and 21-day sleep restriction (SR) on prostate morphology using stereological assays in male rats. After euthanasia, the rat ventral prostate was removed, weighed, and prepared for conventional light microscopy. Microscopic analysis of the prostate reveals that morphology of this gland was altered after 96 h of PSD and 21 days of SR, with the most important alterations occurring in the epithelium and stroma in the course of both procedures compared with the control group.

Sleep deprivation affects inflammatory marker expression in adipose tissue.

Unlabelled: Sleep deprivation has been shown to increase inflammatory markers in rat sera and peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Inflammation is a condition associated with pathologies such as obesity, cancer, and cardiovascular diseases. We investigated changes in the pro and anti-inflammatory cytokines and adipokines in different depots of white adipose tissue in rats.

Exhaustive exercise increases inflammatory response via Toll like receptor-4 and NF-κBp65 pathway in rat adipose tissue.

Cytokines (IL-6, IL-10, and TNF-α) are increased after exhaustive exercise in the retroperitoneal adipose tissue (RPAT) and mesenteric adipose tissue (MEAT). An exhaustive acute exercise protocol induces inflammation in adipose tissue that lasts 6 h after the exercise has ended. It is well-established that this protocol increases circulating plasma levels of non-esterified fatty acids (NEFAs) and lipopolysaccharides (LPS), compounds that are important in stimulating signaling via toll like receptor-4 (TLR-4) in different type cells.

Visceral fat decreased by long-term interdisciplinary lifestyle therapy correlated positively with interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-α and negatively with adiponectin levels in obese adolescents.

The purpose of this study was to assess the level of cytokine expression in correlation with visceral and subcutaneous fat in obese adolescents admitted to long-term interdisciplinary weight loss therapy. The study was a longitudinal clinical intervention of interdisciplinary therapy. Adolescents (18, aged 15-19 years) with body mass indexes greater than the 95th percentile were admitted and evaluated at baseline and again after 1 year of interdisciplinary therapy.

Effects of anabolic androgenic steroids on sleep patterns of individuals practicing resistance exercise.

Anabolic androgenic steroid (AAS) abuse has become a public health problem in many countries, and is associated with many psychiatric disorders. Epidemiological studies have also found increasing numbers of sleep disorders reported by individuals using AASs. The purpose of this study was to evaluate sleep patterns and disorders in anabolic androgenic users who practice resistance exercise.